Anna Nordqvist named 2026 European Solheim Cup captain

The choice of Anna Nordqvist to captain the 2026 European Solheim Cup team, announced officially by the Ladies European Tour on Monday, follows a recent trend in the men’s and women’s game of selecting younger “veterans” who are still competing on a regular basis (see Stacy Lewis, Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald). The Swede is just 37 years old, making her the second youngest Euro skipper since the Cup’s inception in 1990, and was a playing vice-captain for Europe last September at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, Nordqvist’s ninth start in the biennial matches, where she has put together a 17-15-3 record.

Yet Nordqvist’s experience in the event leaves her well-suited for the leadership post. The three-time major champion qualified for her first Solheim Cup in 2009 as a rookie without a full LPGA card. She was part of the European team in 2013 that won for the first time on U.S. soil, the same year she made the first hole-in-one in Solheim Cup history.

“Whether we were winning or losing, the Solheim Cup has played such a huge part in my career ever since I made my debut in 2009 in Chicago,” Nordqvist said in a press release. “The friendships I have made, and the memories created during the nine matches I’ve played, make it so incredibly special to be given the opportunity to be European Captain at my tenth Solheim Cup!”

Beginning her 17-year pro career last week, Nordqvist has won 10 LPGA titles and four LET events, sometimes in the face difficult circumstances off the course. Nordqvist told the Swedish news agency TT that for much of her career she has been treated for high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, that has made it a challenge to compete. She also had to deal with the emotional toll of the death of her husband Kevin McAlpine in 2023 while the couple was in the process of a divorce.

More recently, Nordqvist’s ability to handle has been notable. Last summer, doctors discovered a cyst in her stomach. She had surgery in November to remove it, thankfully learning it was benign.

“I think my life perspective is very different now … I would say I'm like completely different person,” Nordqvist told Golfweek, “but like I'm really not. I'm just more myself, and I'm happy and content with where I'm at. It's taken quite a lot of therapy, a lot of work to deal with a lot of the trauma that I've had to deal with, but I think I just wake up every day just trying to make the best.”

The U.S. has yet to name a captain for the 2026 matches, which will take place Sept. 11-13 at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands, the first time the country has hosted the match. Last fall, the U.S. won back the Solheim Cup for the first time since 2017 has a 11-7-1 overall advantage in the matches.